Shutdown Blues: No Rent Money For Thousands Of Disabled Veterans?

Many thousands of disabled veterans are likely still waiting for back pay, estimated $6 million in total, VA failed to pay due to a “glitch” following the last government shutdown three weeks ago.

Despite promises from VA Voc Rehab to fix the problem, and that any shutdown would not impact benefits payments, many thousands of disabled veterans are likely being forced to go without subsistence payments following the last government shutdown into the present government shutdown.

About the most current shutdown, Politico had this to say late last night:

Exasperated lawmakers and staffers settled in for an all-nighter with the sole purpose of allowing federal employees to show up for work in the morning. A shutdown had been so unthinkable that the Office of Management and Budget did not issue guidance to agencies until dinner time, hours before funding would run dry.

“This is the stupidest thing to happen to Congress in three weeks,” said one Senate GOP aide. “This is even more stupid than the name of the new Kardashian baby (Stormi). This is dumber than a screen door on a submarine. This is even stupider than the kid who didn’t recognize Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl.”

Yes, this shutdown is dumber than a screen door on a submarine. It will likely accomplish nothing. But, if the wheels come off later this morning, the federal government will be caught with its pants down, again.

Dumb or dumber, here we are smack dab in the middle of the second government shutdown in three weeks all the while veterans who are not supposed to be impacted by any shutdown are without subsistence payments due to a “glitch” of some kind.

“Glitch” Background

For some background, a “glitch” of undisclosed nature (but acknowledged by the agency) resulted in over 11,000 disabled veterans not being paid an estimated $1,500 each for rent and food on January 30. Those funds come in the form of monthly subsistence payments promised veterans while they retrain.

These disabled veterans are part of a retraining program called VA Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment. To qualify for the program, veterans must have a service-connected disability that impacts their ability to maintain suitable employment.

Payment Promised Not Delivered To 1/3 Veterans

The program acknowledged the problem and promised it would make payments February 5. As you will see, despite the promise, many veterans claim the agency failed to make payment at the date set.

Chapter 31 Voc Rehab Survey Results

That day came and went, and at least 33 percent of the veterans surveyed who missed payments are still waiting to be paid in just a few hours of the survey being posted. While the survey was not scientific, surveys in our group, Disabled Veterans – Chapter 31 Voc Rehab, tend to be representative across VA of what veterans in Voc Rehab are experiencing.

Regardless, even one disabled veteran going without their promised monthly subsistence payment is one veteran too many. And, we are certain way more than one veteran is still waiting for payment.

Estimate Of Money VA Did Not Pay Out

The initial “glitch” likely cost veterans around $16,500,000.

If the responses to the survey are representative of all veterans who did not receive payments as promised, that means around $6,000,000 has not been paid despite promises. Again, even if just one veteran is still waiting for their money, that is one veteran too many.

Will Rob Reynolds Take Responsibility?

Apparently, there was another “glitch” that resulted on 1/3 of the veterans not being paid from the previous “glitch”.

Or, the agency’s new deputy undersecretary Rob Reynolds was too busy focusing on setting up a VA home loan conference than resolving the missed payment issue.

Either way, many thousand disabled veterans are likely still without their subsistence payment. These payments range from $600 to $4500, depending on various factors.

Suffice it to say the recipients of the payments rely on that money for rent, bills, and food – – which is the point of the benefit to begin with.

VR&E Service Promises Action

I contacted the head of VA Voc Rehab about the oversight on behalf of my group’s members. In a response, VR&E Service Director Jack Kammerer promised immediate action first thing Friday morning. Mr. Kammerer is generally very prompt at fixing problems so long as they are brought to his attention.

Members of our group, Disabled Veterans – Chapter 31 Voc Rehab, are not holding their breath in light of the government shutdown. But, they remain nonetheless hopeful for a quick and speedy resolution once the government turns back on.

ABOUT FOUNDER
Benjamin Krause is a lawyer, investigative reporter and award-winning veterans advocate. He is author of the guide Voc Rehab Survival Guide for Veterans and chief editor of DisabledVeterans.org.
He received his Bachelors from Northwestern University and Law Degree from the University of Minnesota, both using VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment.
He is also featured regularly in national publications as an authority on Department of Veterans Affairs policy such as Bloomberg News, Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington Times, Fox News, CBS, NBC, Star Tribune and more.
_____________________________________________________________

38 COMMENTS

No disability pay or back pay ? I am ok right now but as spouse retires this year wont be able to make ends meet without it. So i guess we will just have to take possession of VA property until paid then. Just wo der which property to possess? They dont have much i would want! Any suggestions from others on what we should do? Ji.

If we only preoccupy donuts & vending machine deliveries at every VA for half a day, it would very-well have more impact than any gov’t shutdown.
However, this should be done with utmost caution and those initial Veterans on vending machine/donut frontlines may-well have to be considered sacrifices for the cause. (highly suggest NOT wearing anything resembling sprinkles on that day)
Once all employees have exited the buildings in panic and to find local donut shops, we take-over all VHA properties…and donuts.

Firm believer in what you say. I am proof. Fighting 28 years now waste of taxpayers money when it took the VA 27 years to admit I am the widow of a Vietnam Veteran but continued to tell me I had to prove cohabiting after l983 when their own Board decision July 2014 stated the Veteran acknowledged cohabiting after 1983. So thereby I did not need to prove because it was already in a previous Board decision. They are wanting me to die and keep trying to make me quit filing Moitions for Reconsideration and placed my case on hold and even vacated their own Board decision when the CAVC denied their Motion to VAcate at the Court and they claimed it was a premature decision when it was not it was a decision on 3.156(b) evidence which the Board had jurisdiction over. All these years they have placed wrong information on VACOLS to give the Board illegal jurisdiction and the Board knowingly of this for they filed a Memorandum stating no statement of the case had been issued in any of my issues. This is prove they knew they did not have legal jurisdiction. Waste of taxpapyers money. No one will get a message to the Secretary of VA to call me and keep covering up this waste of taxpayers money. This is ashame when our own federal government agency does this to those who borne the battle and does not keep its promise to his family.

I wouldn’t know a nasty fugly Kardashian or Justin Timberlake if I passed them on the street… being totally environmentally and situationally aware. Don’t care to know any of that Hollywood trash and communist either.

This issue would be an easy fix. The majority of problems in DC would be easy fixes. Exempt veteran’s monetary concerns like Congress’ pay and their trash has, to ensure they all get paid while the serfs and sheep suffer.

Just like health care. Why do they get special golden elite health care (separate kinds)… we get crap care and incompetence and activist? Fill the damn streets like they do stupid stadiums to watch their Roman games. Few really give a damn to fix things.

Generations before us has kicked all this corrupt trash on down to us. Allowed for this government, media, etc., to get so big so corrupt, deep-seated, it’s pathetic. To the point if we aren’t corrupt or allow for it to keep rule we are now the enemy in America and in our lefty college towns who just love Kardashians and the Timberlakes, loud mouthed freaks who think they have all the answers…. like socialism or globalism or the need for more of a population explosion, more entertainment…we do without.

Yeah, “so why?” Locally it’s because of reprisals and retaliation from the corrupt and self-serving. Same damn thing in Washington DC.

Quote: “We’re bigger than the government.

“We the people” have much more sense than most government officials.

And it’s our hard-earned dollars that keep the government and all its many agencies afloat.

So why are “we the people” putting up with a government that brazenly steals, cheats, sneaks, spies and lies…

…not to mention alienates, antagonizes, criminalizes and terrorizes its own citizens…

…and then justifies it in the name of safety, security and the greater good?

At a time when the government poses the gravest threat to our freedoms and way of life, it’s up to you and me to put an end to these assaults on our freedoms.

The Rutherford Institute is fighting to ensure that Americans remain free…

free to worship as we choose,
free to speak our minds without fear of reprisal,
free to raise our families as we choose,
free to live our lives without having our conversations recorded and our actions criminalized,
and free to hold our government leaders accountable without being threatened, jailed or abused.

Still, we can’t even get to the starting gate without you.

You’re the only who can help us push back against tyranny, oppression and injustice.

Please take a moment right now to make a tax-deductible donation to The Rutherford Institute.” End-quote.

The dumber than analogies do not apply anything because nothing is dumber than the fucking VA,. with dumb Secretaries, dumb OIGs, dumb policies, dumb unions and the dumbest mantra ever recorded in mantra history!!!!! DUMMIES!
To all the dummies supporting VA on this continued path of bullshit, you are dummies too! This is not a #METOO movement, it is a #FUCKYOU movement, so dummies be aware!

CorpsmanUp,
I have to disagree with you, the people in the VA aren’t “DUMB”!
They know exactly what they’re doing! They’ve been doing “it” for so long, they’ve gotten “it” down to a science: ie; Fuck the taxpayers out of their monies, all while fucking veterans out of everything they’ve earned!
How else do the upper echelons/management of VA become so rich? You can better believe, if there’s a way for VA upper management to skim off the top of the monies they receive, they’re all for “it”! They’ve even gone so far as to do “it” right out in the open! And, NOT give a rat’s ass on who knows “IT”!
We’ve seen countless examples on many websites, and on social media, to understand exactly what the hell is going on!

Dude, you are going to have to get a patent on that awesome quote!
I do not know what website I was on, but I saw it posted and it was at least 2 or 3 years old.
I was like my man Reuben Castro ! , from Ben’s site. 😂😂😂😂
Stay at it bro!!!!

The screen doors installed on the vertical launch tubes of submarines actually are a GREAT idea, at least for’our side. I’m not too sure who Timberlake is but do congressional aids normally call out other peoples children as being too stupid? Is that a smart thing for a congressman’s aid to do?

I have no idea who this new human called Stormi is but just consider the temperament of a public servant who has risen to the top of the game and who has picked out one unique beautiful human just born who cannot possibly have anything to do with the heartless nature of this man or his colleagues for the sole purpose of casting ridicule upon a baby and its parents.

I would have said his criticism differently; “This whole thing is stupider than somebody believing that we can actually drain the swamp.” Of course, I am just a stupid vet.

What a friggin disaster. I don’t believe any system glitch occurred. If that were the case, it would have been fixed very quickly, and there would not have been so many veterans still waiting.

At what point does Shulkin wake up and ask what the hell is going on in his agency?

I would be curious about whether there is any relation to those who are still waiting. Do they all get this benefit through paper checks? Do they all get it through direct deposit? Are they all past a certain letter in the alphabet? From a certain zip code? What is common among them?

If it truly were a system glitch, it would be easy to pick out what they all have in common. System glitches make that clear.

91Veteran,
You actually believe “Shyster Shithead Shulkin” isn’t awake. That ASSHOLE knows exactly what the hell is going on in his fucking administration!
He’s part of the problem. His ass needs to be ran out of town on a rail, after he’s tared and feathered!

VA has wasted taxpayers money for 28 years and continues to do so and I have been trying to get word to the Secretary of VA and no one will listen and his federal employees won’t ask him to call me at 205-686-7052 so maybe he will accidently see this and call. The VA has placed wrong information on VACOLS violating 38 CFR 5905 and if it were me they would put me under the jail.
If anyone reads this and knows how to get word to the Secretary I would appreicate it.. Waste of taxpayers money 28 years continues by VA and I am a Vietnam Veteran’s widow fighting for what is due me.

Shelia,
Have you taken ALL your paperwork to a Congressional office?
Make sure they only use “copies” to send to Shulkin.
Also, you might want to “threaten” to go to the news outlets. That, sometimes, gets some results.

Hell, just go the news outlets first. IF the “story” is published, watch out for the VA, they definitely like to screw over people who like exposing them over their corruption!
Stand tall and keep fighting.

I think the reason they don’t want to pay you is because there’s lots of back pay your due! At least that’s my opinion!

Ben!
Great news! These money glitches will soon be OVER!!! The VA now has a way to get “our veterans” the very best care AND at all times! The financial genius of this plan will likely spill over into all areas of VA.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it has launched the Physician Ambassador Program, an effort to recruit volunteer medical providers, at the more than 1,700 VA health-care facilities across the nation.

The physician and clinician “ambassadors” are qualified, trained and licensed health providers who will meet the same requirements as VA professionals in terms of credentials, supervision and evaluation.

“Our Veterans deserve the highest quality of care — at all times,” said Dr. Poonam L. Alaigh, VA’s Acting Under Secretary for Health. “The Physician Ambassador Program is one of the many ways we are working to keep and honor our promise to care for Veterans and their families. Working with the health-care teams and staff in our VA facilities, these incredibly skilled and qualified volunteer physicians and clinicians will improve our ability to deliver great care and service.”

The Physician Ambassador Program will enhance access to urgent care, rural health care and emergency medicine for Veterans. In addition, the program will create stronger collaboration and allow both VA and community health providers to benefit from the sharing of best practices and experiences.

Physicians or health-care providers interested in volunteering as a part of the Physician Ambassador Program should contact their local VA medical center.”

Ok doctors! the phones are manned and volunteers are standing by to accept your pledge. Now, let’s get back to some more great moments with our host Jerry Lewis.

Found something I think you may want to know a little something about the here after plans you and your wife have. It’s not bad if you are into Ocean cruises to exotic lands like China. It is just to bad you won’t be in one piece and alive to enjoy it.

Not to sure about that MedCure plan you and the wife have. Personally I would advise against it. Also they do handle body disposal for the VA.

“A Hong Kong flagged cargo ship departed South Carolina in July carrying 6,000 pounds of human remains valued at $67,204. The container’s temperature was set to 5 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the parts from spoiling. Relatives of the dead, meanwhile, did not realize their loved ones’ remains were being dismembered and sent to Europe and elsewhere, the report notes.

Body brokers like Oregon-based MedCure rely on lax regulations to export heads, shoulders, knees and toes to Mexico, China, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, among several other countries. Plastic surgeons in Germany use heads to practice new techniques, while thousands of parts are shipped overseas annually.”

I think that the article was giving a low estimate of what dead Veterans body are worth. Here in another article they state our dead bodies are worth between $3,000 to $5,000 a piece.

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FBI raids Gresham cadaver company
Zane Sparling, November 14, 2017

“Some companies have been charged with dismembering corpses with chainsaws and misleading families about their loved ones’ ultimate fate. Bodies are typically divided into six parts that are sold for a total of $3,000 to $5,000 each, the news agency said.

Medcure was founded in 2005 by David Urbina and Janis Locenieks. It had about 70 employees in 2012.”

It is also interesting to note several more things about MedCure and some of the people connected to them.

Steven Paddock the human smuggler, arms dealer and Vegas Shooter made regular deliveries to MedCure in Henderson NV. Although what he was delivering is unclear.

Also, Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundations attorneys Perkins Coie were making $100,000 per year payments to one of the founders of MedCure, named Janis Locenieks. The payments were filter through a non-existing company named Wood Furniture Pdx.

What a bunch of crap. I must have heard our President wrong. How many people were fired since he’s been in office? According to him. We need to grab that mayor from West Virginia, I am lost as to how many fools and thieves our Government is housing. Anyone keeping track of how many millions of dollars keep disappearing? What a bunch of Schmucks…

The Florida VA provider set-up its Wi-Fi network without coordinating with the VA’s IT office, introducing security flaws that could have allowed a hacker to gain access to VA systems.

By Jessica Davis
February 09, 2018

“The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General found security at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) was vulnerable, due to the facility setting up a wireless network without coordinating with the VA Office of Information and Technology.

In doing so, the medical center introduced vulnerabilities that could have been leveraged to gain authorized access to VA systems.

VA OIG audited the Orlando provider after officials received a complaint that VAMC was developing the Veterans Services Adaptable Network on its own and funding for the project wasn’t given through proper channels.

The unnecessary risks introduced into the system were caused by a lack of oversight, VA OIG officials found. And those risks could have resulted in compromising other VA systems. Fortunately, officials said it appears that was not the case.

However, management failed to allocate the necessary resources to perform assessments and make sure the right security controls were put in place, officials said.”

In Michigan Veterans are considered much lower than even second-class citizens. They are now going to start preventing Veterans from receiving Medicaid in Michigan. In stead the Veterans will be forced to go into the most deadly health care system in America. The VA Health Care System.

“LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State auditors say Michigan could do a better job of identifying veterans who might be eligible for federal benefits.

The audit released Friday says the state could save money if veterans on Medicaid switched to health programs run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Since 2015, Michigan’s Veterans Affairs Agency is supposed to be working with another state department to identify Medicaid recipients, but the agency hasn’t received the data. Officials blamed it on staff turnover and other issues. The agency hopes to get the information early this year.”

“The audit released Friday says the state could save money if veterans on Medicaid switched to health programs run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”

I believe a state has a duty to protect the citizens first and economic interests second. To me this is an Equal Protection issue meaning we either ALL float together or we ALL sink together and if we need to suck it up and pay for it ourselves then that’s the way it is as a state.

What that sentence you posted does not say is what is likely core to the real issue. That state is duty bound to obtain informed consent when asking a citizen permission to switch them from the state program to the federal one. Part and parcel of informed consent is an accurate medical assesment by a qualified medical or authorized professional regarding the known and possible risks involving such a decision to be made – and then it has to be communicated clearly and without coercion exactly what might get better and how much better, and what might get worse and how much worse. Then the patient under rights of self determination can make an informed decision.

It is a pretty tough sell to say that somebody responding well to treatment in the private sector via the Medicaide program would opt out of it and into VA in hopes that their results will be even better… and still claim they really understood what they needed to know – there is simply no scenario I can envision how that could logically be the case.

… It is an even tougher sale to a States population that we all need to sell out veterans just to hang onto our local bread. Equal Protection Under The Law to me is the ink on the Constitution. To me it means that we all either swim or sink together as States in this Constitutional Republic and in our Nation.

Today I finally found something after two years online searching. I FINALLY found a VA specific definition of coercion! Try it yourself and search for legal definitions of coercion – the internet is FULL of them! The state of Oregon defines is precisely and it is a felony when committed by a public servant. Indian affairs health care (boy you think we have it bad?) defines coercion, and nearly every other federal place does too. Even VA defines coercion routinely but ONLY in the context of coercion against VA employees by management.

Until I finally stumbled on this today. VA does indeed define what coercion is in VA handbook 1004.01 revised 2017;

“c. Coercion. Coercion is defined as influencing, or attempting to influence, the patient’s (or surrogate’s) choice of treatment by use of threat(s), inducement(s), or misleading information.”

This handbook is golden and a must read. Let me ask you; how can this statement be reconciled with armed guard escorts within VA? How could it be argued that an armed guard present does not influence the patient’s choice of treatment? I have seen DOZENS of posts from patients flat refusing care on that basis alone online. I know I did. An armed guard present raises the blood pressure. Does this not influence the decision whether of not to treat for high blood pressure?

This book has my answers for how to word my Civil Rights violations against those who kept signing me up for Choice without my consent. Right of consent is addressed in this handbook too.

It is a very good read if you are a disabled vet who uses VA healthcare.

Exposing VA Using Facebook – Post Ben’s articles, then post the responses from commenters, post the links that others are sharing about additional articles that was located about the VA, post short statements about your own personal healthcare experiences, beliefs, or what you personally know about the VA, or from what you’ve heard from others and know that its true.

Negativity hits home really good, especially if it is commonly known amongst Vets, or you shake up what they already know but they forgot, or couldn’t put it in their own words. Making phrases that rhyme, or based off a song, or something that is common knowledge makes your statement easy to remember. Use something that has a ring to it.

Once any ground is lost, it takes a lot me energy to gain it back, and then to claim more (basic military actions and logistics).

Use Social Media in a positive way to put the spotlight beam straight on the VA. At this point in time, anything will help to keep the kinetic energy moving to influence the necessary changes in the VA. And, you’ll never know in whom your Fb page may spark the interest for another Vet, or someone that loves us, to do the same thing. IMO.